Urban Farms Texas Tomato Food

[Johnniemar]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Blasphemy, 'Burn the witch.

Worth

He, he, he, ha!
Just telling it like i see it.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

He, he, he, ha!
Just telling it like i see it.

Now worries I was kidding.
I dont use the stuff either and the guy is right down the road by about 150 miles from me.

[mdvpc]

I am a firm believer in this product. I resisted using it for years, cause it just couldn't be that much better than other products. Since I have started using it, my yields have dramatically improved.

[Johnniemar]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Now worries I was kidding.
I dont use the stuff either and the guy is right down the road by about 150 miles from me.

Yes i know. I am not saying it is bad, just not any better that many others. Actually i believe a good slow release fertilizer is much better. I prefer the slow release concept.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

I am using TTF this season for the first time. So far i can't tell that it is any better than any other liquid fertilizer i have used in the past. Am i missing something here? I do not think it is worth the extra money. I am not saying it is bad, just that it is no better than MG.

It's only June in NC, which means "so far" is not very far at all.

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

Yes i know. I am not saying it is bad, just not any better that many others. Actually i believe a good slow release fertilizer is much better. I prefer the slow release concept.

I'm sure many products can deliver good results when used correctly. However, I find that liquid fertilizer is superior to slow-release by a huge margin when results are measured in yields. Whether TTF is the best I can't say, but it's convenient and works better than MG tomato formula for me. If I were growing a ton of plants, though, I'd look for cheaper alternatives. I grow less than a dozen every year, so I don't mind babying and pampering them a bit, as a 1/2 gallon is really all I need to fertilize all my solanaceous crops and even give some supplemental feeding to my squash along with some higher-N fert.

Originally Posted by rick9748

Are there methods I can store to keep remainder good until next year??
thanks
Rick P

Rick, I store my unused TTF in my basement, which stays a relatively constant, cool temp all year. It works fine for me the following year.

[Barb_FL]

I store mine inside the house (A/C running 10-12 months per year) and no problems after a year.

I've tried A LOT of slow release, liquid, etc fertilizers and for peppers / cucumbers NOTHING comes close to their Veggie version. I grow in Earthboxes / Root pouches.


I thought their dry formula was far superior to any other granular / slow release but only bought it once due to the price.

[SueCT]

I only used it once last year, but noticed a definite difference pretty quickly after using it, just much healthier plants with less disease. I don't doubt, though, that different people will get different results depending on the soil and soil health they are planting in. If your soil is deficient in something this fertilizer contians in a form easily and quickly available to your plants then you are likely to see better, faster results from using it than someone growing in soil that is more ideal. That can include macro and micro nutrients. If you don't find it helps you much, don't use it, and if you do, great. If what your plants mostly get from your fertilizing is nitrogen, for example, and you have plenty of micornutrients, than yes, just about any fertilizer will likely get you the same results. If this product contains things many soils are deficient in, lots of people will likely get good results, but if your soil is not deficient that experience will not be the same for you. It does seem pretty early to make that conclusion yet but you might know your plants and soil well enough to draw some conclusions already. Its good to hear how many people benefit from a particular product, but also how many do not. Especially since it IS expensive.

[Johnniemar]

Originally Posted by gorbelly

It's only June in NC, which means "so far" is not very far at all.



I'm sure many products can deliver good results when used correctly. However, I find that liquid fertilizer is superior to slow-release by a huge margin when results are measured in yields. Whether TTF is the best I can't say, but it's convenient and works better than MG tomato formula for me. If I were growing a ton of plants, though, I'd look for cheaper alternatives. I grow less than a dozen every year, so I don't mind babying and pampering them a bit, as a 1/2 gallon is really all I need to fertilize all my solanaceous crops and even give some supplemental feeding to my squash along with some higher-N fert.


I grow about 85 plants per season of tomatoes. I realize it is early, but it was june this time last year as well. All i am saying is my results this year are about the same as last year this time. In my humble opinion it is not worth the extra cost in my garden. My yield thus far is comparable to last season by mid June. I was expecting more fir the money.



Rick, I store my unused TTF in my basement, which stays a relatively constant, cool temp all year. It works fine for me the following year.

[Johnniemar]

Originally Posted by SueCT

I only used it once last year, but noticed a definite difference pretty quickly after using it, just much healthier plants with less disease. I don't doubt, though, that different people will get different results depending on the soil and soil health they are planting in. If your soil is deficient in something this fertilizer contians in a form easily and quickly available to your plants then you are likely to see better, faster results from using it than someone growing in soil that is more ideal. That can include macro and micro nutrients. If you don't find it helps you much, don't use it, and if you do, great. If what your plants mostly get from your fertilizing is nitrogen, for example, and you have plenty of micornutrients, than yes, just about any fertilizer will likely get you the same results. If this product contains things many soils are deficient in, lots of people will likely get good results, but if your soil is not deficient that experience will not be the same for you. It does seem pretty early to make that conclusion yet but you might know your plants and soil well enough to draw some conclusions already. Its good to hear how many people benefit from a particular product, but also how many do not. Especially since it IS expensive.

My plants are single stem and i lower and lean them as they grow, they are already about 7 feet tall. I planted out April 17th and have been harvesting tomatoes for a week or so, believe me it is not too early to draw some conclusions. My conclusions are TTF is a little to pricey for MY results, at least so far. Maybe by the middle to end of the season i will feel differently. I bought a gallon of it and of course will continue using it till it is gone. By then i hope i might feel differently.

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by Johnniemar

I grow about 85 plants per season of tomatoes. I realize it is early, but it was june this time last year as well. All i am saying is my results this year are about the same as last year this time. In my humble opinion it is not worth the extra cost in my garden. My yield thus far is comparable to last season by mid June. I was expecting more fir the money.

Are the growing conditions exactly the same as last year? I know that it was unseasonably cold until very late here in PA, then May was a solid wall of rain. If tomatoes were doing exactly the same as last year, they'd be doing exceptionally well.

Not sure where you are in NC, but the Eastern Seaboard tends to get the same weather patterns, just with increased average temps as one goes south (with exceptions from mountainous areas/microclimates).

[SteveP]

I have never used TTF, but have read many believers comments. It does seem pricey and I am not convinced the difference in results is worth the cost. But if I could find it locally I would try it for myself.

[SueCT]

I still think results are bound to vary based on your soil and its needs. IF it provides something your soil really needs that not every fertilizer has, you will probably see better results. If not, you won't. In that case I certainly wouldn't spend the money for it, either. If you are already very happy with your plant health and yields, I probably wouldn't bother.

[Worth1]

The site said that a feed store up the road sold it.
I drove there and they had never heard of it.
Two young guys.
Come to find out the owners dropped a lot of stuff.
Tried to talk another nursery owner into it and they weren't interested and had never heard of it.
The Lady Bug stuff I had at one time worked really well but it is local too.

[b54red]

We have now reached that stage where the temps and humidity usually put the brakes on fruit set. For the last two days it reached nearly 100 with high humidity and for the past week it has been way up there and with that choking humidity even first thing in the morning. For me this is when TTF really shows its stuff. I am finding new tomatoes every morning despite the conditions. For me the TTF is about the added fruit set which has always been difficult here after the real summer heat and humidity moves in. This year we were blessed with a very unusual spring with some weeks of low humidity and cool nights that allowed tremendous fruit set but the good times are well over now.

I have tried all kinds of fertilizers and ways of applying it over 40 years of growing tomatoes and for me nothing even comes close to the results I get with TTF. Sure I have times when it is really hard to keep healthy plants but that is just part of gardening in the deep south. I apply it every 5 to 7 days when possible and during times of heavy rain I have to hold off a bit and reduce my frequency of fertilizing but it is important to keep up a regular feeding regimen to keep the plants healthy and producing after that initial heavy production from the first few clusters. I was doing this with Miracle Grow before I discovered TTF and have had good results with it but at about the same cost when used weekly. I increase the amount of solution that I apply to each plant as they get larger and older in order to keep them producing in our difficult conditions and i did the same thing with Miracle Grow for a few years before trying TTF.

I like to have fresh eating tomatoes for as much of the season as possible and usually I can have some fresh tomatoes every day despite the conditions. I set out plants with staggered planting dates right up til mid to late summer. Although I can still get some tomatoes from my oldest plants it is just so much easier to deal with newer plants and pull some of the old ones. This helps tremendously in those stifling days when it is so difficult to get fruit set. The TTF has helped plants set more fruit during those difficult times than anything else and that is the biggest reason for me using it regularly. I also find my plants stay healthier longer giving them regular feedings.

I also use lean and lower with single stem pruning and the first year I used TTF from the start of the season til the end I was able to keep half my plants alive and producing for over 7 months with some of the vines over 25 feet long when they finally froze. I no longer try to maintain plants that long because it is just too much work after the vines get beyond 12 to 15 feet long. Right now some of my tomato plants in my first bed are getting nearly that long. I started my second bed only two weeks after the first and they are also getting nearly that long. My third bed wasn't planted until the middle of May and they are setting a fair amount of fruit and should be giving me some ripe tomatoes in a few weeks. I hope to set out another small bed of tomatoes before the end of the month and hopefully will be able to set out another around the end of July or early August for some late fall tomatoes.

It may be that the big improvement I see with TTF is the result of me gardening in the same spot for 40 years and the TTF supplies some things that have been depleted in my soil from the years of intensive gardening. I grow something in my beds year round and do amend them each season with compost and other things but I'm sure the good natural balance of micro nutrients is somewhat depleted so I'm just doing what works for me. I didn't start out with good rich soil but rather some sand on top of hard clay and it took some real work to get my soil up to the point where things grew well and TTF has been a huge help to me. I guess if you start out with great soil the need for a great fertilizer is probably not so important but I have never had that kind of soil. The first year I grew here my county agent came by and declared there was no way I could successfully grow tomatoes in that pitiful fusarium and RKN infested soil. It took me some time and a lot of effort but I finally proved him wrong.

Bill

[SueCT]

I fertilized small plants in the garden on 6/14 with TTF, full stregth as directed on the container, 1 gallon per plant, not realizing you were not supposed to use the full strenght dilution on small plants. They were only 12-18" high. They seem to be doing fine, no harm done. Now they are a little larger and bushier, and we got a good rain today. We also have a heat wave coming this weekend, mid 90s. Wondering if I should fertilize again now also, or if overdoing it a couple of weeks ago means I should continue to hold off. What do you think? When do you start using it in full strength and in the full amount on each plant, and how often?